Vegan Cupcake Thursday

Italia comes alive with flavor

2011-06-02T20:15:00.000-07:00

Tucked away in the boot shaped country is a 29 year old Mom who loves cupcakes. Does she kiss her fingers then open them like a rose in mid-air? Will she kiss you on both cheeks when she greets you? Does she drive a Fiat? Can she recite the story of Romulus and Remus?

Do you want to know the answers? Suspense killing you? Well sorry I actually don't know the answers. But a girl can wonder! I do know she makes a kick-ass Delizioso Vegan cupcake.

Lara's journey into veganism started out like many of us. She did her research about where her meat and dairy came from and decided it was cruel. She realized being Vegan was beneficial to her health and the planet but most importantly the animals. I applaud her for making a positive change.

Although I do have a vegan bone to pick with her, she's not a Team Edward fan! Everyone knows my one self-indulgent is Edward Cullen. He is the Cupcake Whisperers one and only. I just know one day a van will be screeching out of control towards me and Edward will come and stop it with his steel hard cold fist. It will happen, it will! We will lay in our meadow. And we will have a half vampire, half human baby, we will!

Let's get to know Lara from Italy. I love the way she speaks English even if she is not a Team Edward fan.

Carrot Cupcakes

When did you start baking?I started baking vegan about three years ago, because I was craving for cake, but in Italy, especially in Emilia-Romagna where everything is pork-based (they put strutto, which is pork fat, basically everywhere), is nearly impossible to find vegan goods. So I did some research on the Internet, and I bought the Isa Chandra masterpiece, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. Baking vegan cupcakes was easier than I never thought!

What is your personal favorite cupcake to make?
I like light and fruity cupcakes, because they are easy, nice, good looking and... I can eat more than one!

Are you vegan? Why did you turn to veganism?
I am vegan since may 2008. I always wanted to be vegetarian, but my parents tricked me with the "meat is necessary" tale all the time. I supposed that, at 26, I was big enough to make my own choice :) I wanted to go vegetarian, but when I read about the horrors of milk and eggs, I went straight vegan. I also learnt that going vegan is not only good for animals, but for the entire planet!

What do cupcakes mean to you?
I like cupcakes because they are pretty, yummy, and they remember me of London!

What is your happiest memory while eating cupcakes?
I have nice memories of eating delicious vegan cupcakes in London, with special friends!

Chocolate Brownies

What do you like to do when you are not baking?
I work for a web agency and I'm on the Internet 12h a day. But I love reading, playing with my daughter and do postcrossing.
Do you have any events coming up where you will be selling cupcakes?

Unfortunately no. First, I'm not so good yet (my friend Francesca's cupcakes are way prettier, lol! :)), second, here in Italy there are very strict laws about selling baked goods. I dream about opening a vegan bakery, but I think I'd need to move from my pork-loving town! :)

Team Edward or Team Jacob? (the most important question)

Team "Kill 'em both"? :) Is killing fictional characters suitable for vegans?

What else do you like to bake?

Cakes, cookies, and sometimes bread with my bread machine.

And now the moment you've all been waiting for. I'm over my Team Edward rant. I've surrounded myself with my Edward Cullen dolls, pillow cases, key chains, backpacks, posters, book markers, and lunch box to soothe me. But the moment you were waiting for was the recipe!

Vanilla & Raspberry Vegan Cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

1 cup of soy milk
1 1/4 cups of self-raising flour
1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoon of corn starch
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/3 cup of vegetable oil
3/4 cup of brown sugar
2 teaspoon of vanilla extract or 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla powder

For the custard:
600g of vanilla flavoured soy milk
30g of all-purpose flour
12g of corn starch
30g of non-hydrogenated margarine
60g of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder (to make it yellow, optional)
grated lemon zest

Other ingredients:

Raspberry jam
Prepare the cupcakes mixing soy milk and vinegar and set it aside a few minutes, then mix it with oil, sugar and vanilla and mix together. Sift in the flour, salt and cornstarch and mix. Fill cupcake liners and bake for 20 minutes in a pre-heated oven to 180°C (350°F). Transfer to a cooling rack and let them cool completely.
Prepare the custard mixing 100g of soy milk with the flour, corn starch and turmeric powder. In a pan melt the margarine, mix it with the remaining soy milk, sugar and lemon zest. When it boils, add flour and corn starch, stirring with a wire whisk, and cook for 3 minutes. Set aside and let it cool completely. (this makes a lot of custard, and I usually save it for eating later)

With a tablespoon, dig a cone out of the top of each cupcake, fill the hole with a tablespoon or two of custard and one or two of raspberry jam, then set the cones back on place.

I hope you like it! :)

Thank you Lara for this amazing recipe. We love your flavor and taste of Italy. Boy we would like to be a fly on the wall when you were in London :0

Ding Dong Ms. Cupcake Calling

2011-05-25T18:55:00.000-07:00

Hello! Cupcake Whisperer here. I finally scored the interview I have been waiting for for months. I started following Ms. Cupcake on Twitter and found her to be quite zany, funny and naughty. She comes from the land of Big Ben, the place where they throw in a bunch of extra U's in words, the place where Bob is your Uncle, and left is right and right is left. But my favorite or favourite thing about her is that she makes Vegan cupcakes! Oh mama! ~~While~~ Whilst she is quite far from the Cupcake Whisperer, her website displays an array of color or colour (too much? not funny anymore?) and a whole heap of variety of flavours or flavors (perhaps you need me to translate?). If I could turn her into my own Mrs. Doubtfire I would and she could bake me fresh Raspberry Cheesecake Cupcakes or Toffee-Fudge Cupcakes daily. She has many many different cupcakes, too many for me to sit and count because I am yes, lazy. No I have not gone Barmy and I certainly haven't been smoking too many Fags and this is not Codswallop, it's the Bee's Knees I tell ya. So let's get our rompy pumpy on and learn a bit more about Ms. Cupcake.

When did you start your business and why did you decide to go into baking?

I started baking Vegan cakes for my friends a few years back and everyone loved them. I had always dreamed about working for myself and after some brain storming with my friends Ms. Cupcake was born. I started all by myself a little over a year ago opening Ms. Cupcake in markets around London. It was clear from the start that people liked what I was doing and within months I had to bring on extra people on board to help grow the business into where it is now

Why are you vegan?

I love our planet – this is my little contribution to it.

What is your personal favorite cupcake to make?

I never play favourites with my cupcakes – I love them all like my children! But one of my first flavors was a Bakewell Tart flavoured cupcake and I still have a soft spot for it.

What is your top selling cupcake?

That would be the one we call the Ambassador, it’s my take on a Ferrero Rocher, but Vegan.

What do cupcakes mean to you?

Cupcakes are a perfectly formed gift of love. Every one of our cupcakes is hand crafted by my team and I like to think we put a little of our love in all of them.

What is your happiest memory while eating cupcakes?

Every time I create a new flavour it takes me back to my first day of baking when I was a young child baking with my grandmother in her kitchen.

Have you had any crazy requests from customers?

We had an order from the Australian Tourist Board for cupcakes using Vegemite as the flavor. But here at Ms. Cupcake we like a challenge when it comes to flavors, we now have over 100 flavors that we can pick from and I like to come up with at least a new one every week or so.

What do you like to do when you are not baking?

I love trawling around ethnic food markets and going to the latest underground supper-clubs as well as spending time with my family and friends.

Do you have any events coming up where you will be selling cupcakes?

We do lots of special event and we list these on our website, Ms Cupcake likes to pop up here and there so it’s always best to check first before heading out.

Let us know your website and social networking sites and if you have a brick and mortar store give us the address/telephone and how we can order.

Our new shop is at 408 Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, London SW9 8LF. You can also find us www.mscupcake.co.uk or on one of our social networking sites: Twitter: MsCupcakeUK or Facebook: Ms.CupcakeUK

Do you take special requests, do you ship out of state, and do you do large orders like for weddings?

We do large orders for civil partnerships and weddings; we talk to every customer about their orders and try to find a way to get their cake to them. Most of our deliveries are in London where I can send one of my team to make the delivery personally, for me it’s all about the Ms. Cupcake experience.

Team Edward or Team Jacob?

This is a hard one but I think I would have to go with Team Jacob, he looks like he enjoys good cake and here at Ms Cupcake we believe that everyone deserves good cake.

What else do you sell in your shop?

Well our menu is always growing this week we also have Vegan Donuts, Cookies, Cookie Sandwiches, Vegan Cheese Scones and Cuppa-cup Cakes.

Anything special you want to promote?

Do check out our website www.mscupcake.co.uk for any event’s and promotions.

Do you do any vegan related fund raising?

We have chosen to support the London Vegan Pledge. We also feel it is important to actively promote a vegan life style within the shop, this is done through our leaflet area as well as hosting a monthly Vegan Potluck.

Shadey turns 5

2011-04-15T19:01:00.000-07:00

Shadey here, and guessh what peeps......It'sh my BIRTHDAY and I turned 5 today. That'sh how many fingers I have on my front paws but not my back paws. he he. Luckily I have 5 toesh on my front paws or elshe I'd have to type with my back feet. he he.

Sho Mummy is having a big shcelebration in my honor. We are going to have a party. Do you know who I'm not inviting to my Birthday party? The shtupid cats, that'sh who! It'sh bad enough I have to share my cake with my shister. But she turned 5 twelve years ago sho she'll probably just curl up on her favorite blankie and go to shleep.

Shince it'sh my birthday I can do anything I want. Sho I go up to the shtupid cats and I ashk them, "Sho what are you getting me for my birthday?" And their all, "Why would we get you anything, you're a dog". Sho I shee one of their toysh on the ground and I pick it up and shtart running with it but I didn't get too far cuz there was Mummy standing there with her hands on her hipsh. Ah Oh!

I'm shure those shtupid cats got me shomething for my birthday sho I'm looking around the house and I think I finally figured it out. They keep going into thish little box with a roof and leaving shomething in there that shmells shooo good. I shneak in the room and the aroma is sho enticing. I can shee like little tootsie rolls hidden in shome shand. Now my tails wagging and I then get dishtracted and have to catch my tail but oh yeah, the tootsie rolls...sho I try to reach my head in the door way but it'sh to big, darn it thish nose of mine, I'm sqeezing and changing angles but my nose keepsh hitting the house. Maybe if I took a running head shtart I could dive right in thish shtupid cat house. Sho I turn around and my nose hitsh Mummy right in the knee. She has her hands on her hipsh. Ah Oh!

And on my own birthday I had to do a down shtay but I heard the timer on the oven and then I know shomething good is coming out of that oven. Mummy makes me and my shister the most aweshomest treats and they alwaysh come out of the oven. Sho I shay screw this down shtay and I run into the kitchen only to find the biggesht wonderfulesht cake. Mummy didn't sheem to mind I got up from my down shtay ha! score! But she was cutting my cake into piecshes. I tried to tell her I'll just take the whole thing she doeshn't need to cut it for me, I'm a big girl. Woof woof woof. But she shtill cut it anywaysh.

Mummy shtarted singing to me but all I wanted was the cake. CAKE! After what felt a century long the dumb shong was over, all I could understand was my name anywaysh but finally I got CAKE! I can't really tell you what it tashted like caushe I woofed (no pun intended) it down..maybe the faster I eat them the more I'll get. But guessh who didn't get any of my birthday cake? The shtupid cats, that'sh who!

Sho that'sh me on the left. Ash you can shee my plate is empty. My shister takes F.O.R.E.V.E.R to eat her piecshe. I want to shteal it ash you can shee the look in my eye.

Our friend Scrappy Rat provided thish recshipe in a previous blog post, one I wrote all by myshelf.

Peanut Butter Cake with Carob Ganache

An impressive looking cake that's easy to make!

Cake

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup rice milk

1/4 cup molasses

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon ground flax seeds

Ganache

3/4 cup carob chips

1 tablespoon vegetable shortening

• In a large bowl, mix flour and baking powder.

• In a large measuring cup, combine the other cake ingredients and

allow to sit for three minutes.

• Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and stir just until

completely blended.

• Pour batter into a well greased round cake pan and bake at 350

degrees for 20 minutes.

• Cool completely before turning out onto a cake platter. Regular

plates will cause the cake to be indented in the middle due to their

concavity.

• When the cake is cool, place carob chips and shortening into a small

saucepan.

• Stir over low heat until both are melted and the mixture is smooth.

• Pour onto the center of the cake.

• With a rubber scraping spatula, smear the ganache evenly over the

top in a thin layer, allowing some of the mixture to drip over the

edges decoratively.

• When ganache is completely cool, it will form a firm glaze.

• Tip: Flax seeds can easily be ground in a home coffee mill.

Scrappy Rat Designs has a creature creation you'll love!

http://scrappyrat.etsy.com

Stop by and grab your copy of Yummy for Dogs: A Cookbook for Canines.

Until next time folks. Woof Woof Aaarrruuueeee!

JAM Vegan Bakery

2011-03-24T12:14:00.000-07:00

Jam Vegan Bakery sounds like a kick ass duo that produces fair trade, organic and all natural vegan awesomeness. They are located in Los Angeles and will be getting mobile with their Vegan Food Truck! That will make every vegan's dream come true; imagine stepping outside and have a truck full of vegan desserts at your disposal, oh my! If you are in their area look for them at Farmer's Markets. If not, check them out online. It was so fun interviewing this couple. Read below to find out what cakes and penises have to do with each other. Speaking of penises, what is the plural of penis? Peni like Cacti? Penis'? Before the Cucpake Whisperer gets reported we better move on to the interview.

When did you start your business and why did you decide to go into baking?

We started our business, officially, in the beginning of 2011, but have been introducing our products to friends and neighbors since 2009.

Mallori- I have been baking with my mother since I was very young, and that is where I found my love for baking. My mother taught me the skills of baking cakes and cookies, and throughout the years, I have developed my own recipes and I have veganized family recipes. I taught Jesse, the other half of JAM Vegan Bakery, how to bake and decorate. Jesse has always been very creative, so once he learned the basics, we were able to combine our creativity and create the best vegan desserts.

Why are you vegan?

Mallori- I woke up one day when I was 14 and decided to be a vegetarian. I felt that if I could say "no" to something that was very common (such as Meat), I could say "no" to the peer pressure in my teenage years. Since I lived in Western Pennsylvania at the time, and vegetarianism was not widely accepted, I turned to PETA.com to learn how to be a vegetarian. After about one year, I decided that it was time to go Vegan. My family was very proud of me and supported my choice to live a Vegan lifestyle.

Jesse- Mallori and I met in 2005, at the time I was not a vegetarian. After being with Mallori, and learning how easy it was to be Vegan, I decided to try the 30-Day Veg Pledge on PETA.com's website. I loved the way I felt being a vegetarian, and I knew that I could be veg for life!

What is your personal favorite cupcake to make?

Mallori- My favorite Cupcake to bake is Raspberry Chocolate, because I use my mom's chocolate cake recipe and I love the color of the natural raspberry frosting!

Jesse- I really enjoy making the Mint Chocolate cupcake. I enjoy filling the cupcake with the mint creme before topping it off with a rich chocolate ganache.

Choco-Vanilla

What is your top selling cupcake?

Our top selling cupcake is the Raspberry Chocolate Cupcake, and the second is the Strawberry Lemonade Cupcake.

What is your happiest memory while eating cupcakes?

Mallori- Cupcakes remind me of the late nights spent baking with my mother... nostalgia.
Jesse- I remember when Mallori made me cupcakes in our first apartment when I was 23 years old. She made me Peanut Butter Chocolate cupcakes, yum!

Have you had any crazy requests from customers?

Mallori- I have had a request for an erotic vegan cake. The customer wanted a large dark penis cake! Sooo, I made her a 13"x4" vegan chocolate peanut butter penis cake, it also had some "white stuff" which wrote out Happy Birthday... she loved it!

What do you like to do when you are not baking?
Mallori- I like to lay by the pool in the warm SoCal sun. I also enjoy hiking in Griffith Park, and playing tennis.
Jesse- I like to swim, hang-out with friends, and watch movies. I also like hiking and playing tennis with Mallori.

Do you have any events coming up where you will be selling cupcakes?

Mallori- We are looking forward to the wonderful summer events happening in LA. We will be selling Vegan, Organic, Eco, Fair-Trade Easter Baskets for Easter, but we still need to verify the location, check our website soon for more info. We also plan on being at the World Fest on May 22nd 2011. We will be hitting the Farmer's Markets in the Los Angeles area in the near future as well, stay tuned!

Jesse- When we reach our Kickstarter.com goal, we will be launching our Vegan Food Truck. When our treats are on the streets, we will be at the food truck festivals, weekly events, and all over the city.

Our Website is: http://www.jamveganbakery.com/

Our Kickstarter: http://kck.st/igHjGV

Our Twitter is: http://twitter.com/JAMVeganBakery

Our Facebook is: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Los-Angeles-CA/JAM-Vegan-Bakery/162052813840792#!/

We are a catering/personal order bakery in Los Angeles, and hopefully we will have the First Vegan Dessert Food Truck in Los Angeles by the end of July (Visit our Kickstarter.com project to learn how you can help us fund the food truck).

If you are interested in placing an order, Email us at: JAMVeganBakery@gmail.com or click-on "Contact Us" on our website, http://www.jamveganbakery.com/

Do you take special requests, do you ship out of state, and do you do large orders like for weddings?

We take orders within the LA area. JAM Vegan Bakery can do orders for weddings, including specialized Eco-wedding favors. We also provide treats for birthday celebrations, holidays, productions, and more!

What else do you sell in your shop?
We create Vegan, Eco-Friendly, Organic, Natural, and Fair-Trade desserts, such as Vegan Cupcakes, Vegan Cake Pops, Vegan Cookies, Vegan Muffins, Vegan Oatmeal Cream Pies, Vegan Gobs, Vegan Brownies, and more!

Anything special you want to promote?

All of our products are made with the best Organic ingredients, our products are Fair-Trade, and we use only Eco-friendly packaging materials. We never use artificial food coloring, artificial flavoring, or any preservatives in our treats!

Do you do any vegan related fund raising?

Our first fund-raising event will be to help out Japan. We will be providing treats for the Bake Sale for Japan in Los Angeles. Please visit: http://bakesaleforjapan.com/ to learn more about where you can buy our Vegan treats in the LA area for a good cause: we will also be updating everyone with the location on our website.
Thank You for taking the time to learn more about JAM Vegan Bakery!

Peace and Treats,

Jesse and Mallori

A Poem To Think About

2011-03-10T13:29:00.000-08:00

"Thanksgiving dinner's sad and thankless

Christmas dinner's dark and blue

When you stop and try to see it

From the turkey's point of view.

Sunday dinner isn't sunny

Easter feasts are just bad luck

When you see it from the viewpoint

Of a chicken or a duck.

Oh how I once loved tuna salad

Pork and lobsters, lamb chops too

'Til I stopped and looked at dinner

From the dinner's point of view."

--Shel Silverstein

Something to think about on Vegan Cucpake Thursday. Don't forget dairy & egg products still hurt & kill the animals. See our tab above for some great vendors that make and sell vegan goodies.

Why am I free and they are not?

2011-02-06T22:58:00.000-08:00

I took a trip out to Novato, CA today. Um, not really the Vegan mecca of the world. Actually not much of anything of interest out there. Sorry Novato friends, no offense. There was a small historic area. A museum I wouldn't mind going into next time, however the only next time would be to rescue the thousands of bovines out there. It was a very meat and dairy kind of place. In search of food I saw tons of Mexican restaurants. I went into one to see if their rice was made with chicken broth. It took a lot of misunderstandings to communicate with them but the answer was finally resolved at YES. So I ended up at a Indian restaurant. They understood me with one try to ask which items did not have dairy or meat in them. The food was pretty good. But I can guarantee there were no vegan cupcakes in this town. Although I did see a Whole Foods. It almost looked out of place with all the farms.

I want to share with you some of my pictures I took of these lovely bovines. I'm not a bovine expert though I hope to be someday, but I think these were all young Holstein cows. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong.

When I got out of the car and walked up to the barbed wire fence these beauties stared at me. I said a small prayer for them because I knew their fate. They know their fate.

One was right at the fence.

My heart just ached for her. She couldn't get much closer to the fence than she already was. And I'm pretty sure she was saying, "Okay friends, my ride is here, see you later." And believe me if I could of fit her in my car I would have. Well that and if I had wire cutters.

And this gorgeous bovine says, "I AM NOT A NUMBER, I AM A LIVING CREATURE LIKE YOU THAT CRIES FOR MY MOMMY, since she was taken away from me, THAT ACHES ALL THE TIME from having forced pregnancies over and over and who gets injected with all kinds of evil things. THAT WOULD BE HAPPIER if it wasn't up to a stupid human to tell me when I have to die."

I was pleased that the cows had lots of land to roam around. I was pleased they were not standing in knee deep shit. But we all know once these cows stop making money for the farmers they are good as dead. And that is not okay with me.

That far away look makes me wonder what she is thinking. Perhaps she is hopeful for freedom.

How anyone has the heart to break up a bond such as Mother and Child, friend and friend is incomprehensible to me. Though I could not capture on film exactly what the cow on the right was doing I think you can sense the bond. She was grooming her friend on the left. The cow on the left seemed to need comfort. She walked over to the cow on the right, bowed her head and the other started licking her. Perhaps telling her, "One day all will be right with the world. Just hang in there a little while longer."

And the two friends stood side by side for the duration of my time there. I wonder if they will be slaughtered together.

Really how could anyone want to participate in the suffering of bovines by consuming dairy? Let alone meat, leather, whey, casein, gelatin, stearic acid, and a whole heap of other things.

There are so many alternatives out there, that putting a cow through so much torture is unnecessary.

GO VEGAN

A contest to win a vegan calendar and zine!

2011-02-02T17:29:00.000-08:00

A contest is in order here. Well it's not for cupcakes but something just as good because it's vegan! You get entered a chance to win an awesome handmade calendar that has vegan events listed like Farm Animals Day, not just the Federal holidays. And you also could win a zine written by vegan authors. All the topics are vegan related and cover all kinds of topics.

You can enter at the creators of Vegan Cupcake Thursday blog. This will give you a chance to see what we do when we are not stuffing our mouths with cupcakes.

So go to http://www.daisywares.blogspot.com/ to read the details on how to enter.

Good luck!

Other blogs to love

2011-01-20T19:11:00.000-08:00

Even though Vegan Cupcake Thursday is the best darn blog ever in the world, I would like to share some other vegan blogs with you. These ought to inspire you to get those cupcakes started.

First we will start with a guide to easily replace the cruel dairy in cupcakes Veg News Baking Substitution Guide

Here is a cool blog called Quarry Girl. She tells you about some cool cupcakes (with great pics) from a company called Half Baked

Anyone into Sweetly Raw?

We really like Pure Bakery's blog, we've featured her in the past. She rocks.

Please leave a comment and tell us your favorite vegan baking blog so we can check it out!

The Cupcake Whisperer has turned another year old

2011-01-12T18:28:00.000-08:00

It's my birthday today. We won't talk age, let's just say I've had my cupcakes with rationed butter. Back then Earth Balance was just a gleam in your daddy's eye. And Daiya Cheese wasn't even a thought.

God, could you imagine if your generation was when Daiya Cheese was born and you couldn't even imagine what life was like before it. Like what kids today think of 8-track tapes, writing in cursive with pen and paper, having to wait 5 - 7 days to receive mail! Instead of downloading an MP3 song in a matter of seconds you had to wait for the song to come on the radio all day long then record it with your cassette tape recorder. You were limited to talk on the phone in your house with a cord that was only 3 feet long. The cool families had the 20 feet cord! And the party line! How on earth did we live?

But one thing that has not changed since year BC, rationed butter and beyond are cupcakes. They've always been the same round little cakes with icing on top and simply delicious. Good things never change.

Well I was really just joking about my age. I'll know when I'm old when I don't sleep in the same room with my teeth. I will tell you that the year I was born:

the average annual income was $9,400.00
the average monthly rent was $140.00
postage was .06 cents
and this may still be true in some 'Deliverance' type places, joking, really I am.

Today was a good day. I got many cupcake wishes and even got some cupcakes!

Check out Veganville, I'm tellin' ya, they are a party in your mouth. I also got some totally cute cupcake wrappers all the way from across a pond or two.

So you guys rock on with your bad self and I'll be seeing you on Vegan Cupcake Thursday probably till I get parts in commercials for walk in bath tubs for seniors and the classic; lifeline medical alert.

A Look At The Faces Behind The Eggs

2010-12-23T17:05:00.000-08:00

I wrote a blog not too long ago about dairy so this time I would like to tell you a little about chickens and eggs.

We all know life on a factory farm for chickens is not their ideal life. And it's not our ideal life for them either. Many of us have protested for their rights and many states have passed a law that will remove battery cages from factory farms. Yay! But that is just the tip of an iceberg in making the lives of chickens better. You hear of labels that say Free Range and Cage Free but in my opinion they are just covering the BO with more BO. The government and farmers are trying to make what is horrible seem better and make you the consumer feel better about buying the product. Here are what these labels really mean.

Free-Range: While the USDA has defined the meaning of "free-range" for some poultry products, there are no standards in "free-range" egg production. Typically, free-range hens are uncaged inside barns or warehouses and have some degree of outdoor access, but there are no requirements for the amount, duration or quality of outdoor access. Since they are not caged, they can engage in many natural behaviors such as nesting and foraging. There are no restrictions regarding what the birds can be fed. Beak cutting and forced molting through starvation are permitted. There is no third-party auditing.

Cage-Free: As the term implies, hens laying eggs labeled as "cage-free" are uncaged inside barns or warehouses, but they generally do not have access to the outdoors. They can engage in many of their natural behaviors such as walking, nesting and spreading their wings. Beak cutting is permitted. There is no third-party auditing.

For more labeling information see the Humane Society's website here.

A few facts about chickens on factory farms to think about:

Every chicken is debeaked without anesthesia. Debeaking is a painful procedure that involves cutting through bone, cartilage, and soft tissue. They must be debeaked because being stuck in a cage or crammed in a barn causes the chickens to fight. They get bored, go stir crazy and get frustrated.
Male chicks are useless for laying eggs so they get grounded up while still very conscious. Or they are placed in a plastic bag to suffocate and die. Or they are simply tossed in a dumpster.

Broiler chickens have been genetically altered to grow twice as fast and twice as large as their ancestors. Pushed beyond their biological limits, hundreds of millions of chickens die every year before reaching slaughter weight at 6 weeks of age. Chickens grow so rapidly that the heart and lungs are not developed well enough to support the remainder of the body.

There are no laws protecting chickens in respect to the way they are killed. (under the federal Humane Slaughter Act animals need to be unconscious when killed). Their throats are slit while they are still conscious. They are placed in an electrical bath that will immobilized them but chickens can still feel after this.

Here are some fun facts (yes after all this I said fun) about chickens that you may not of known:

Chickens make memories before they are even hatched. As embryos, they hear their mothers' vocalizations and are then able to identify and understand them when they are born. Chicks are able to remember something even if they can't see it. Human babies can not do this until they are 5-8 month old.

Chickens can tell people apart and remember their experiences with them.

Chickens also have a sense of the future. Given a choice between receiving a small amount of food immediately or a larger amount in the future, they will choose the latter, demonstrating self-control and the capacity to delay gratification.

Chickens are very social and form strong friendships. They prefer the company of familiar chickens and avoid chickens they don't know. Being in the company of their peers is more important to them than food.

Chickens learn from watching not so much by instinct. If they see their sibling eating something bitter and see their negative reaction, the chicken will not eat that food. The mother hen will show the chicks what is good to eat and lead them away from food that is bad.

Chickens are very smart and are capable of complex thought. They can identify an object even when it is partially hidden. They can do this at 2-3 days old where as human babies start to do this at 4 months old.

About 24 hours before a chick is ready to hatch, it begins to peep in its shell to notify its mother and siblings that it is ready to emerge. The mother responds to these sounds by covering her unborn chicks with her body or by making soothing sounds. Siblings communicate with each other while in the embryos as well. They can slow down or speed up each others development.

Chicken know what is good for them. If the chicken is in pain for example, they will choose food that has pain killers crushed up in it as opposed to food that does not contain pain killers. When they feel better they will choose the food without the pain killers.

Chickens are highly communicative. They have different calls for distress, nesting, mating, laying eggs, threats, all clear calls, contended calls, and contact calls.

I think the most precious thing though is that chickens are highly protective of their young and mates. They form a strong bond to their family. Of course in factory farms all of this normal life is taken away from them and they are forced to live a life that is so not like them naturally.

So next time you are making cupcakes know that you don't need eggs to make them. All the vegan recipes out there will explain what you can use in place of eggs. Here are a few egg alternatives: mashed bananas, apple sauce, EngerG, tofu, pumpkin, & flax seeds. Just do a Google search and you can find out the measurements you will need.

And since I already posted about dairy, you know you can substitute dairy milk for rice, soy, almond or coconut milk.

Please consider a vegan diet for your health, the animals welfare and the environment!

References used are Peta.org, HumaneSociety.org and a wonderful book called The Inner World of Farm Animals by Amy Hatkoff

Cupcake Porn, Now Do I Have Your Attention?

2010-12-16T22:18:00.000-08:00

Happy Vegan Cupcake Thursday everyone! Boy what a day I had. I was in a very crowded building getting some lunch and I ran smack dab into a sandwich board. That's right, just about knocked it down to the ground in front of everyone. I didn't dare look up while I fixed the sign. I just got the hell out of there and will never show my face there again because I know if I do the same exact people who saw me crash into the sign will be there to laugh and point at me. Oh but the embarrassing moments didn't end. On my way back to work I ran right smack dab into a man. I was behind him and still ran into him. He checked his wallet to make sure I was not pick pocketing him. Nice. You know maybe I was searching for cupcakes dude geesh.

The only thing that can calm me down are cupcakes. Yeah you know how people Google themselves, well I Google cupcakes. That's right, if the cops ever have to..ahem..retrieve my computer they will find a ton of downloaded cupcake porn on it. Note to hubby, if the cops ever have to seize my computer, please throw it in a bucket of acid.

So while wallowing in my I'm such a dork sadness I came across a website called Miss Vegan. Well anyone named Miss Vegan can cure all my ailments. I bet her cupcakes can help me walk and chew gum at the same time. Her catchy flavors caught my eye and my taste buds. Flavors like Orange Creamsicle, Star Bright Choco and Mega Spooky Cupcake. She has the cutest Miss Vegan girl on her website you must check out. And she has a great deal in store for you. Read on to find out more!

Lets get to know Miss Vegan before I trip over my tongue......

When did you start your business and why did you decide to go into baking?

Miss Vegan officially launched about a year ago. Although I had became interested in baking and cooking shortly after i became vegan. That was when I realized there weren't many options for me and my sweet tooth. Just for the fun of it I set up a vegan table at a local farmers market. The table did outstanding. As time went on I continued baking for my friends and parties. People loved it and they couldn't even tell that it was vegan. The great reactions I got from everyone were so satisfying that i realized this is what I want to do.

What is your personal favorite cupcake to make?

I do enjoy making all kinds of cupcakes. I like changing things up and working with different colors and flavors. If i had to choose I would say I enjoy making the brownie batter cupcake the most. It's very work involved because I am not only making cupcakes and frosting, but a batch of brownies as well. It's really the best of both worlds. It's def for chocolate lovers.

Are you vegan? Why did you turn to veganism?

I have been vegan for about 4 years now. It's actually a funny story how I became interested in it. I started having nightmares about eating animals. I felt it was selfish to take an animals life just because I was hungry. I don't judge people who do eat meat. It's ones personal choice, but it's def not for me.

What else do you sell in your shop?

Miss Vegan sells all different kinds of things. We sell cookies, cakes, fudge, bars, pies, cake pops, brownies, cheesecakes and much more. I will even cook you real food if it's what you desire.

Anything special you want to promote?

Miss Vegan will be giving away your choice of a Miss vegan hat, tote bag, or t-shirt with any purchase 30 dollars or more. The purchase must be made before Christmas. Offer will be good while supplies last.

What do cupcakes mean to you?

Happiness.

Do you take special requests, do you ship out of state, and do you do large orders like for weddings?

Miss Vegan loves special requests! We love a challenge. We certainly do ship out of state! We also give special rates for weddings :)

Where to find Miss Vegan:
You can find all of Miss Vegan's info on our website. Check out their Etsy shop as well!

A lesson from a Houston Food Celeb: Pumpkin Spice Vegan Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

2010-12-09T21:08:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! It's me Shadey again. Mummy had her eyes dilated today sho I get to ~~eat~~ write the Vegan Cupcake Thursday blog today. Mummy can't shee anything sho I can write whatever I want! I got real famous shince my last post. Shee I even got on the cover of Time Magazine. Notice the shtupid cats didn't. Ha ha shtupid cats.

When Mummy was at work I shnuck onto her computer to check my Twitter tweets (2FOXY4U) and shaw this really shweet man on Vegan Good Eats named Joel. And don't tell anyone but I think I have my first crush. Joel shure is cute. A-roooooo!

Joel had Jody Stevens of JodyCakes on his show. She showed us how to make Pumpkin Spice Vegan Cupcakes. Oh no I'm slobbering on Mummy's computer again. These cupcakes look sho good. They got these cupcakes to go from this...

to this

Please watch the video below to shee how to make these shcrumptious vegan cupcakes. And jusht remember ladys Joel is mine! Grrrrr sho shtay away grrrr. And Joel if you'd ever like to go to the dog park together and find things on the shtreet to eat I'm your dog. Mummy can drive us in her Prius. And shometimes she lets me off my leash.

All these cupcakes are making me shleepy. I'm going off to dream land now.

Pleash follow Vegan Good Eats on Twitter and Like him on Facebook, but only Like not Love becaushe I love him. You can shee the whole post on Pumpkin Spice Vegan Cupcakes here.

Pure Bakery

2010-12-02T15:12:00.000-08:00

So I'm sitting in my living room watching Animal Planet when all of a sudden I hear a rumbling noise coming from the kitchen. Well this had better be good, I have to get the warm cat belly off my lap, move the dog's paw out of the way and trip over a hamster ball on my way to find out what the H.E. double hockey sticks is going on in the kitchen. The oven was busting at the seems and rumbling out of control. All of a sudden the oven door bursts open and these little cookies with arms and legs with crooked evil smiles run out in an attack force like an army and knock me down to the ground. I can't get up, they are tying my feet and hands together. I scream out, "What in God's name is the meaning of this?" Their fearless leader walks up to me, well even laying down she still has to look up at me, she was a small sassy one. She said, "So, the Cupcake Whisperer, we finally meet." I asked, "Who are you?" She responds, "The name is Bread, Ginger Bread." I said, "Well Ginger Bread, iiiifffff that's your real name, what do you want with the Cupcake Whisperer?" Her response was, "We need you to bake some more of us. We need to duplicate like rabbits or like Susan Lucci's Emmy nominations. We need to take over the world and you are the only one who can do it." I said, "I would never bake more of you, you you scary little gingerbread and I thought you were suppose to be men? Men named Ginger? You're as scary as those gnomes people put out in their yards every Christmas." Just then a gingerbread woman sticks her little machine gun made out of licorice in my face. I got a vision of them turning me into a Patty Hearst with a licorice machine gun. Oh no I can't be brainwashed I have to do something. But during my zoning out pretending to be Patty Hearst my little hamster in his ball came tearing around the corner. I heard his little engine roar. He just started rolling over the gingerbread women, flattening them out like Kristin Stewart's chest. With all my might I broke free of my restraints and all I could think of doing was eating all the gingerbread women. They did smell really good but I forgot to ask them what perfume they were wearing. My little hamster saved my life. No thanks to the lazy ass dog and cat. I think they slept through the whole thing.

This happened 5 years ago. True story. And since then I have been awfully afraid of Gingerbread Men or Women or whatever the hell they are suppose to be. But you know what they say, we must all face our fears. So I feel I must conquer my fear. I must bake gingerbread men transgender whatchamacallits. But where do I start? Pure Bakery baby, that's where I'll start!

Katie of Pure Bakery has a brand new blog. She is a vegan inspired baker who wants to bake her little vegan heart out. And by the looks of it she is really good at it. Though she does not sell her baked goods yet, YET! her blog has recipes on it. She takes awesome pictures each step of the way so you know you are doing it right. And hey her gingerbread cookies don't look so scary!

Please check out her blog
Fan her on Facebook
And follow her tweets on Twitter

Encourage her to start selling these vegan goodies on Etsy!! :)

HAPPY VEGAN CUPCAKE THURSDAY

Augusta Vegan Bakery, Mm Mm Good

2010-11-11T17:24:00.000-08:00

Today's Vegan Cupcake Thursday feature is Veronica from Augusta Vegan Bakery. She says on her website, "I specialize in delicious homemade baked goods, just like grandma would have made if she'd been a vegan." Wouldn't that have been cool if our Grandmas were vegan!? I do get that old time feel when I see Veronica's website. It brings back memories when the Cupcake Whisperer was merely a mutter (I don't know what is smaller than a whisper?) and fresh out of cupcake stained diapers. My Grandma, Babcia being of Polish descent would bake with no measuring cups or teaspoons and no mixers. It was all done by her hands (please Babcia tell me you washed your hands before starting) and her joy would just come from watching me stuff cupcake after cupcake into my wittle mouth.

One thing I find intriguing that Veronica bakes is Madame Cohen's Honesty Cookies. It's not a cupcake I know. It took me a very long time to understand that there are other things not called a cupcake in this world. It's the same equivalence as when we all found out the earth was not flat, when Milli Vanilli didn't really sing on their album, when Joaquin Phoenix wasn't really a rapper, when Jim Morrison really wasn't dead, er well.. maybe that is true and not a surprise. A cookie, What the..? Where the..? Who the...? This is an outrage! RAWR@! grumble grumble grumble. Anywho, these were inspired by Madame Cohen's Honesty Cake in Alice Hoffman's recent novel, The Story Sisters. Madame Cohen believed that a cake made of these ingredients (lemon zest, anise seed, and dried cherries) can bring out the truth in someone. And when I read this two visions come to mind. My Grandma, Babcia in a cape flying over Brooklyn sprinkling these cookies in everyone's mouth and those crazy kids on Vampire Diaries when Damon just needs to stare at you and make you believe anything he wants you to and get information out of you, but Stephen is not good at compelling because he drinks animal blood and not human blood. Oh no what if Vervain gets mixed in with the Madame Cohen's Honesty Cookies? Would the male vampires finally realize how boring and plain and ugly Elena really is and wonder why everyone has to make a big deal about her? Could vampires step inside a home without having to be invited first? Ah yeah, way off subject here, I think I can have a lot of fun creating a story about Honesty Cookies, another blog though. These cookies sound so good and perfect for the Holiday season! While Uncle Cletus is passing gas and the freckled twins are bickering over the new Iron Man 2 toy while watching boring old football or Tim Allen's The Santa Clause movie, you could have some fun on your family with these truth serums. Muwhahahahaha! \m/

Madame Cohen's Honesty Cookies

So without further capes and compelling here is the lovely and talented Veronica from Augusta Vegan Bakery!

When did you start your business and why did you decide to go into baking?

I started my business in the summer of 2009. I had been thinking about it for a long time, and Etsy provided the perfect opportunity for me to start on a smaller, more manageable level. So, I started doing a lot of baking from the little kitchen in my studio apartment. Within a few weeks, I had a solid base of very tasty recipes that I could call my own. I set up shop, and the rest is history!

Baking is a hobby that has always given me joy. I can’t say I learned from my mother or my grandmother; while both were good cooks, neither spent too much time baking. My passion for baking really took off in college, when I started to teach myself the basics. Later, when I went vegan, my interest grew exponentially for both cooking and baking. For some reason, having restrictions on what ingredients I could use helped unleash my creativity, and I started tackling recipes I never thought I could. I love having that creative outlet waiting for me at home at the end of a long day at work. I look forward to the day when I can bake full time!

Pumpkin Spice with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Why are you vegan?
I went vegan almost three years ago and never looked back. It all started with a dairy allergy. I started researching why dairy isn’t a healthful choice for most people, and began to discover the awful truth about the dairy and meat industries. I read as many books and online articles as I could, and eventually discovered the shocking videos available on the PETA website. I couldn’t believe that I’d kept a blind eye to all the cruelty that is involved in producing the hamburgers I once enjoyed for so long, and was ready to change my life. I couldn’t believe how much better I felt without all that heavy dairy and meat. My body works like a well-oiled machine these days, and I know that this is the diet I was meant to eat!

What is your personal favorite cupcake to make?
I just adore the Double-Chocolate Cupcake with Buttercream frosting. I think the batter is just so pretty, and the frosting is the best! It’s a simple recipe, but it is so much fun to make. Plus, I get to snack on the chocolate chips that run astray!

What do cupcakes mean to you?
I think cupcakes convey a sense of fun, whimsy, and charm. People love them because they’re not just adorable; they’re delicious. They’re perfect for elegant parties, afternoon snacks, or casual get-togethers. Can you think of an occasion where a cupcake wouldn’t be welcome? There are very few, if any. How can you argue with a dessert like that?

What is your happiest memory while eating cupcakes?
While there are so many, one particular moment stands out. I brought a few cupcakes to my fiancé’s and my engagement shoot last month, and we nibbled on them together for the camera. The location was so beautiful, and despite being in front of the camera, we were able to relax and have fun together. Now, we have photo memories of all the laughing and goofy moments we had, and they’re so much fun to look at!

What do you like to do when you are not baking?
I work during the day, and I love to keep my free time packed with projects! I’m currently producing an animated film called Burp’s Christmas (http://www.burpschristmas.com), working with some friends from college. We’re doing the film independently, and are currently getting ready to start fundraising. It’s a wonderful tale about a struggling family during the holiday season. I’m very excited about it!

I also like to stay as creative as possible, so I spend time doing art projects and photography when I can. Lately I’ve been busy with craft projects, and I’m gearing up to make tons of DIY projects for our wedding next year. And obviously, I’m passionate about food, so my fiancé and I love exploring Los Angeles and trying all the vegan food we can find!

Double-Chocolate Cupcake with Buttercream Frosting

Do you take special requests, do you ship out of state, and do you do large orders like for weddings?
Absolutely! Yes to all of these. Special requests are the spice of life; they keep things interesting. I ship out of state, but not out of the country, unfortunately. I’ve never done a wedding-sized order, but I’m up for anything and am willing to discuss.

Team Edward or Team Jacob?
Team Peeta! If you haven’t read the Hunger Games, get on it. It’s addictive, in wonderful ways. And if we must talk Twilight, then I guess I’m Team Edward.

What else do you sell in your shop?
I sell cookies, breads, and scones. Whole-Wheat Banana Bread is a top-seller, and a personal favorite.

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

Anything special you want to promote?
The holidays are coming! In the next few weeks, I’ll be updating the site with all kinds of yummy seasonal treats. Keep your eyes open for that!
Thanks so much!

Here is where you can find Augusta Vegan Bakery
I do almost all my business through my Etsy shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/augustavegan
I’m also available for custom and local orders, so feel free to contact me through the Etsy site or via Facebook or Twitter.
Facebook: http://www.lisp4.facebook.com/pages/Los-Angeles/Augusta-Vegan-Bakery/249968085017

Twitter: http://twitter.com/AugustaVegan

I also keep a blog, which you can check out here: http://augustavegan.blogspot.com/

Vanilla Agave Cupcake

The Divine Cupcake - 'nuff said

2010-11-04T17:10:00.000-07:00

Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. It has been 3,650 days since my last confession. I have cheated on Vegan Cupcake Thursday. I made sweet love to a cupcake on a Wednesday. It took all of 1.2 minutes but the pleasure was sinfully delicious. He was a pumpkin flavored man with hair of caramel. But what really got me were those pumpkin seeds dangling in his hair. It was a Wednesday, I was in Plant Cafe and our eyes locked. He was the only one sitting their in the display. The temptation was so great, the last one left, but it's only Wednesday!! The devil made me do it Thursday, I swear. Father what is my penance? His reply, "Only the Divine Cupcake can absolve you of your sins my dear". The Divine Cupcake(?), I didn't know there was such a thing. So with a little poking around the Internet suddenly a bright light shone on my computer screen and a harp started to play in the background. Ahhh the Divine Cupcake, I see the light now.

I is played by the Cupcake Whisperer
Father (God) is played by Morgan Freeman
Pumpkin Caramel Cupcake is played by Tim Lincecum of the SF Giants
The Divine Cupcake is played by The Divine Cupcake

Organic & Vegan Chai cupcake mix

Please meet the one and only Divine Cupcake. What an awesome shop, they sell mixes to make your very own cupcakes in their Etsy shop and they even have a retail shop in Eugene OR! Their Cupcakes can even be wheat free, gluten free, soy free and/or sugar free if need be.

When did you start your business and why did you decide to go into baking? We started the business in 2007, but I've been baking since I was a little kid. My husband and I wanted to start a business together that would be unique and fun, and cupcakes fit the bill! We have some great friends who have food carts, and that inspired the cupcake cart which is how we started selling cupcakes at various festivals and events. We didn't open our shop until March 2010.

What is your personal favorite cupcake to make? Lavender

Organic Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcake

What is your top selling cupcake? Chocolate-Chocolate

What is your happiest memory while eating cupcakes? When we first started the business, experimenting in our kitchen with various flavors was crazy fun, and we ate a lot of cupcakes!

Have you had any crazy requests from customers? Nothing too crazy just yet!

What do you like to do when you are not baking? Relax! I like to travel, and spend time with my friends/family.

Do you have any events coming up where you will be selling cupcakes? Just at the shop until spring when festival season starts up again.

Do you take special requests, do you ship out of state, and do you do large orders like for weddings? Yes, Yes and Yes! Orders can be placed by phone, in person or via online ordering system

Team Edward or Team Jacob? I'm on the fence, but leaning towards Edward. (note from Editor, atta girl)

Organic and Vegan Ginger Cupcake

What else do you sell in your shop? Lots of adorable things from various Etsy artists, Papaya!, Natural Life, Bella Cupcake Couture, and local NW artists.

Anything special you want to promote? Our cupcakes are all Organic and Vegan, and we strive to keep our business as green as possible. In our shop we also have a full organic espresso and tea menu that goes perfectly with cupcakes!

So here is where you can check out The Divine Cupcake

Address:

1680 W. 11th
Eugene, OR 97402
541-543-5757

http://divinecupcake.com/

~Follow me at https://twitter.com/divinecupcake

~Become a facebook fan http://www.facebook.com/divine.cupcake

~Find us on MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/divinecupcake

~Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/divinecupcake/

Organic Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcake

Can't get enough Scrappy Rat

2010-10-28T13:14:00.000-07:00

I had to take the laptop away from Sadey or Shadey as she says. I thought she was abusing her privileges but then come to find out that our cat was forcing Sadey to blog in attempts to dominate the Internet, thus mankind. The cat was behind it all! He plots evil at every chance he gets using sweet Sadey as his decoy and if anything goes wrong it would be blamed on Sadey. Poor Shadey.

So last blog we featured a dog treat recipe by Scrappy Rat Designs. And this week we get to know Veronica a little better. As Sadey was just to hyper catching her tail and ripping open the couch pillows she didn't include the interview or pictures. Sadey seems to think that any picture posted on the Internet should only be of her. The cat seems to think otherwise.

So please without further butt scratches and tongue kisses, please welcome Veronica of Scrappy Rat Deigns.....

How did you get started making greeting cards?

When I was diagnosed with Degenerative Disk Disease and the pain had become my fulltime companion, I had to let go of a lot of my more physically taxing hobbies. I had always enjoyed collage and journaling, so it wasn't a big jump when a friend introduced me to scrapbooking and stamping. Then I learned about crops and crafting weekends--the social side of scrapping and I got hooked. I've met a lot of really cool people through events and swapping ATC's. I host the Altered Artists' Meetup group in Raleigh and the people are really incredible. I love getting together with such creative and talented people.

How did you come up with the idea to incorporate customers companion animals into the greeting cards?

I enjoy photographing the animals I know, and I love making little books with the pictures I take. Making the cards is very similar, just the pages aren't bound together. :)

Why are you vegan?

For ethical reasons. I have worked in animal rescue and advocacy way too long *not* to want to do all I can to keep from harming animals. It's not like it's all that hard to be vegan. It's the least I can do to keep their blood off my hands.

I understand you make vegan dog cupcakes, what inspired you to make cupcakes for your dogs?

I actually started before I had dogs. I worked at The Third Place, a coffee shop with a large number of dogs among their clientele. Making dog treats to sell there was a way I could raise money for animal rescue groups and shelters. I paid for the ingredients myself so the shelters would get 100% of the money we collected. Later my own dogs would come to enjoy being my own private taste testers. With their help, a handful of recipes became close to 100.

What do cupcakes mean to you?

To me, cupcakes are a delivery device for frosting. I'm a frosting maniac. (Note from Editor, um I love this and couldn't of said it better) I could eat it by the handful if my stomach would let me. It tends to complain if I eat more than one cupcake so I stay in check.

Do you sell your cupcakes for dogs?

Not anymore. My spine acts up too much to let me do mass baking, so now I sell my Yummy for Dogs cookbook in my Etsy shop. All of the money I make selling the cookbooks in my shop goes to the Etsy for Animals Charity of the Month. This month it's a feral cat rescue. I also earmark certain sets of cards as charity items with 100% of their price also going to charity.

Have you had any crazy requests from customers (for cupcakes or cards)?
I'm afraid to say that people have been pretty tame. That's a challenge for all you readers out there. Push me!

What do you like to do when you are not baking dog cupcakes and making greeting cards?

I'm a writer so I'm usually working on one project or another. Several of my books are available in my shop, as well as via my publishers and Amazon.com. And of course, I love to spend time playing with my animals and my foster pets. I have 2 dogs, 2 cats, 3 rats, 2 turtles, 2 degus, a chinchilla and a foster hamster.

Do you have any events coming up where you will be selling your greeting cards or cupcakes?

I make a lot of cards for animal rescues that request them for their fund raisers, so I'm usually working hard on sets and gift baskets for them.

Here is where to find Scrappy Rat Designs

Scrappy Rat Designs: http://scrappyrat.etsy.com

I also have a site for my writing at www.evnoechel.com

and my blog can be found at http://scrappyrat.blogspot.com

How does someone request a customize greeting card?

Just send me a message via my Etsy shop. If you are interested in having your pets on the cards, I ask for .jpgs I can work with and we can go from there. Your pet doesn't have to be a dog. I have made cards featuring clients' rats and birds, too. I'm open to working with just about any animal you can think of.

What is your most embarrassing moment?

Oh geez. That's really hard to choose. There have been so many.

Team Edward or Team Jacob?

That's easy. Team Elias. Let the Right One In is a fabulous book.

What else do you sell in your shop?

Yummy for Dogs, A Cookbook for Canines

Aside from the cookbooks and pet-themed stationery and jewelry, there are notebooks and actual books--of my poetry.

Anything special you want to promote?

I really enjoy doing the collaged cards using photos of clients' pets. There's something about capturing their personalities that I just adore.

Do you do any vegan related fund raising?

Absolutely. I've always been an animal advocate, so my heart demands it. I sell items earmarked for charity in my Etsy shop, with the proceeds going to the Etsy for Animals' Charity of the Month, and I'm always making items for animal groups to use to raise funds to further their work. I foster/volunteer for an animal rescue that takes in small animals, too. Rats, mice, hamsters, gerbils, degus, chinchillas...all those little guys no one seems to think end up as strays or in shelters have a very special place in my heart. They're so easily discounted as "vermin" or unimportant when nothing could be further from the truth.

2010-10-21T13:31:00.000-07:00

I'm taking the day off from writing but just wanted you to know if you liked the last post about the vegan dog treat recipe from Scrappy Rat Designs then check out her blog because she posted another recipe. She has the cutest picture of a mouse holding a cupcake. I love it!

http://scrappyrat.blogspot.com/

I am taking the day off because I get to go see Ric O'Barry speak tonight. He made The Cove. I know don't be jealous. Yippie, I am so excited!! So it's not everyday I get to see a hero speak which somehow entitles me to stop typing and just eat cupcakes. Nom Nom Nom Nom

Happy Vegan Cupcake Thursday.

Dogsh are people too you know

2010-10-14T19:14:00.000-07:00

Hi my name is Shadey and I'm the cupcake whisperers beshtesh companion. Oh we have other ungrateful beashts around here but they are my shervants. Although shometimes Mummy gets mad when I shteal the shtupid cats toys. But I know I'm her favorite cause she makes me treats, yup fresh out of the oven too! She doesn't make the shtupid cats treats. Mummy met a real nishe lady named Veronica from Scrappy Rat Designs. Thish lady has a dog treat reshipe that Mummy is letting me share with you. I have to type with my paws real careful becaushe otherwishe it will look like thish

l;a;fjfjwjf;oiwfjghcxoiekmcjlhlkhennsxnlnjclwenwhohvnvwoswoewfosfmlsllsfhaskhdolvnvhowjfihnvlonkn
voihalnlnasvlianhvlkavoswen.;jsdlileswlhskj

There are no spashes becaushe my thumbs are too far up on my arm to use the spache bar.

Anywaysh, this lady Veronica is vegan jusht like me! She makes the cutest cards too, check out her shop.

Mummy makes cupcakes all the time but I get real growly when she makes them with chocolate. Chocolate hurtsh my belly. But when she makes the vanilla kind she lets me eat shome, but not the shtupid cats, ha ha shtupid cats.

Sho here is the reshipe for you to make for your favorite beshtesh companion.

Birthday Party/Gotcha Day Cake

If you’ve been kind enough to rescue, you may not know the actual day
your dog was born…so celebrate his “Gotcha Day” (the day he was
adopted) instead!

Peanut Butter Cake with Carob Ganache
An impressive looking cake that's easy to make!

Cake
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup rice milk
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds

Ganache
3/4 cup carob chips
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening

• In a large bowl, mix flour and baking powder.
• In a large measuring cup, combine the other cake ingredients and
allow to sit for three minutes.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and stir just until
completely blended.
• Pour batter into a well greased round cake pan and bake at 350
degrees for 20 minutes.
• Cool completely before turning out onto a cake platter. Regular
plates will cause the cake to be indented in the middle due to their
concavity.
• When the cake is cool, place carob chips and shortening into a small
saucepan.
• Stir over low heat until both are melted and the mixture is smooth.
• Pour onto the center of the cake.
• With a rubber scraping spatula, smear the ganache evenly over the
top in a thin layer, allowing some of the mixture to drip over the
edges decoratively.
• When ganache is completely cool, it will form a firm glaze.
• Tip: Flax seeds can easily be ground in a home coffee mill.

Scrappy Rat Designs has a creature creation you'll love!
http://scrappyrat.etsy.com
Stop by and grab your copy of Yummy for Dogs: A Cookbook for Canines.

I've been drooling thish whole time. Mummy will be mad I got drool on her computer.

You thought I was going to show you a picture of cupcakes, but I'm shooo cute you get a picture of me inshtead. I'm in my V-Dog shirt because that's the food I love. You should feed your beshtesh companions thish food too! It's cruelty free like my Mummy is. And I wuv her roof roof ruuueeee!
Now Mummy wants to shteal my thunder and tell you shomething sho here she is.....

HAPPY VEGAN CUPCAKE THURSDAY EVERYONE! Cupcake whisperer here, PLEASE CONSIDER A CRUELTY FREE LIFE STYLE AND NEVER BUY ANIMALS FROM BREEDERS, ADOPT INSTEAD! Little Sadey was found running around on Hwy 5 near LA and now she lives a spoiled life here in Berkeley, CA. She loves to blog and talk to her peeps on Skype. Her handle is 2Foxy4U

Wedding Cupcakes

2010-10-07T14:40:00.000-07:00

I'm seeing a trend here, instead of a wedding cake, I see wedding CUPCAKES. This is all the more reason to have another wedding (to the same man of course) so I can have cupcakes wedding style! Is there any laws saying I can't be married to my husband and Robert Pattinson? Sorry hubby, joke, I joke! Back to cupcakes. Maybe these places will give you some ideas if you are in the season of getting married.

Pink Sugar Cupcakery (ooh cute name) located in Victoria BC

Sweet Avenue Bake Shop located in New Jersey

The Divine Cupcake located in Eugene, OR

Happy Vegan Cupcake Thursday

small print. all pictures belong to the businesses listed. don't sue me for using the photos.

A bit about the history of cupcakes

2010-09-29T21:55:00.000-07:00

Tonight in my best smoking jacket, smoking my pipe, finger brushing my mustache by the fire in my library and sipping my warm brandy I ponder the history of the world with the best Old English accent inside my head. I'm using words like knickers, lift, wellies, and Bob's your uncle to impress myself inside my head. And I have to wonder as an old English chap would, where do cupcakes fit in with history? Eeerrrrrrr (insert sound of a needle scratching an album) Okay enough of that, get me back inside my Pam Anderson shaped body, whoa that's better. Now where was I? Oh yes, when were cupcakes invented? How did they get their name? Well in doing a bit of research I found a website that explained it best in terms that even Pam Anderson can understand. I kid, I kid because I love. Hey Pammy's veg'n so she can't be all that dumb. So in quoting this website and God only knows if it's true, here is what I found.

Begin quote (except or a few spelling errors my spell check found)

The cupcake evolved in the United States in the 19th century, and it was revolutionary because of the amount of time it saved in the kitchen. There was a shift from weighing out ingredients when baking to measuring out ingredients. According to the Food Timeline Web, food historians have yet to pinpoint exactly where the name of the cupcake originated. There are two theories: one, the cakes were originally cooked in cups and two, the ingredients used to make the cupcakes were measured out by the cup.

In the beginning, cupcakes were sometimes called "number" cakes, because they were easy to remember by the measurements of ingredients it took to create them: One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three cups of flour, four eggs, one cup of milk, and one spoonful of soda. Clearly, cupcakes today have expanded to a wide variety of ingredients, measurements, shapes, and decorations - but this was one of the first recipes for making what we know today as cupcakes.

Cupcakes were convenient because they cooked much quicker than larger cakes. When baking was down in hearth ovens, it would take a long time to bake a cake, and the final product would often be burned. Muffin tins, also called gem pans, were popular around the turn of the 20th century, so people started created cupcakes in tins.

Since their creation, cupcakes have become a pop culture trend in the culinary world. They have spawned dozens of bakeries devoted entirely to them. While chocolate and vanilla remain classic favorites, fancy flavors such as raspberry meringue and espresso fudge can be found on menus. There are cookbooks, blogs, and magazines specifically dedicated to cupcakes.

End of quote

So I wonder when the vegan cupcake came out?

Happy Vegan Cupcake Thursday! Enjoy your cupcakes today and please share them with your meat eating friends. Who knows maybe they will never go back to dairy cupcakes, you know what they say, once you've had a vegan you never go back. Hmm doesn't have the same ring to it as the saying I had in mind.

The Plant Cafe in San Francisco

2010-09-23T19:41:00.000-07:00

I work in the financial district of San Francisco, yeah I know you are thinking Vegan Cupcake Thursday has an entire skyscraper with a heli pad and security just for our operations but no, I actually just do this on the side in my tiny house with my tiny cat. Anywho, if you are vegan you need to know the underground places to go to get lunch, because dem thar meat eaters aren't gonna tell ya. I came across this place called The Plant Cafe in San Francisco. I was thinking okay, another place that may have one option that isn't vegan but they could just leave the cheese out or something to make it vegan. But no I was wrong. They have many vegan options! I have never seen so many "V"'s on a menu in my life, yeah baby yeah. Up by the counter they have the glass case for those impulse buys. And when I spied what I spied my eyes got so big I thought they were going to burst. Do you know what I spied? Do ya do ya? V.E.G.A.N. C.U.P.C.A.K.E.S. and not just one tiny tray of cupcakes, the whole freaking glass case was filled with vegan options, cupcakes, cookies, cakes, muffins, breads. Of course by now I forgot all about ordering lunch, who needs lunch when there are cupcakes?!

I guess I don't have to tell you the employees know me by my first name, no not the cupcake whisperer. They also know when it's Thursday by my humble appearance. I have casted the Vegan Cupcake Thursday spell on them so they know to be fully stocked on Thursdays.

Plant Cafe uses all organic ingredients. I do have to mention they are not all vegan. And get there early because the place gets packed! Which makes me think, are there more vegans out in San Francisco than I know about? Are vegan restaurants not so underground anymore? Are they just sending me to these dinky underground places because they don't want me to know about their places? Do they not like me? Oh no am I paranoid like Ray Liotta in Goodfellas? You know when he's driving around in the car and he keeps seeing a helicopter above.

The Plant Cafe have 3 locations in the city. The one at 101 California is where you will find me suctioned to the glass case with drool running down the glass. The Pier 3 location is a bit more fancy shmancy and you can sit outside with a view of the bay. I have never been to the one in the Marina, but I'm sure they have alerted security about me. My picture is probably up in their back room under crazies to watch out for.

So in anticipation for The Office to start tonight and to celebrate Vegan Cupcake Thursday I hold one chocolate cupcake with vanilla icing just waiting to be devoured. I think I'll have some chamomile tea to go with it. Yeah, it's going to be a good night.

Happy Vegan Cupcake Thursday <3

Happy Vegan Cupcake Thursday!

2010-09-08T20:49:00.000-07:00

Well so far we have had some pretty amazing vegan bakers featured on Vegan Cupcake Thursday. And one of them (GiGi from Veganville) I have made quite good friends with. See what happens when someone gives me free cupcakes, you can't get rid of me no matter how much you want to. By the way GiGi, still waiting for that coffee date.

Anyway, you don't have to be a famous baker to get featured on Vegan Cupcake Thursday. If anyone out there has documented making vegan cupcakes, let me know about it. We want fabulous pictures, the minute by minute playback, recipes, opinions, reviews, jokes, bring it on. Let us know of places in your area where we can buy vegan cupcakes. C'mon this is your 15 minutes of fame, don't lose out! Write me by becoming a fan of my Facebook page and send me a message, http://www.facebook.com/daisywares

And don't forget to follow us on Twitter, http://www.twitter.com/vegancupcakeday

Thanks to this man, we have Vegan Cupcake Thursday

2010-09-02T19:09:00.000-07:00

Today would have been Donald Watson's 100th birthday. He is the Father of Veganism. He coined the word Vegan and founded the Vegan Society in 1944. Honestly I have read about him before briefly, but could never remember his name. I didn't know too much about him. But after today I now call him my hero. If Donald Watson was never born what would my life be today? After I found veganism I finally felt whole and complete. Without Mr. Watson perhaps I would still be walking around feeling like something was missing. What would the world be like today without him? God Bless Donald Watson. And how perfect that his 100th birthday fell on a Vegan Cupcake Thursday!

The following was copied from this Veg News article. Complete credit for the following goes to Veg News.

Remembering Donald Watson

By Joseph Connelly

VN commemorates the 100th birthday of the “father of veganism.”

September 2 would have marked the 100th birthday of the “father of veganism,” Donald Watson, who passed away at the age of 95. While Watson wasn’t the first to prescribe a wholly plant-based diet, it was he, along with his wife Dorothy, who coined the word “vegan” in 1944. He founded the Vegan Society, the world’s first organization of its kind, signaling the start of a movement for compassionate, cruelty-free living. In honor of Watson’s birthday, VN presents a portion of Publisher Joseph Connelly’s 2005 interview with the man who gave the vegan movement its moniker.

VegNews: You were vegetarian for almost 20 years before going vegan. What made you go vegan?

Donald Watson: All our theories told us [that animal products] were obviously produced by cruelty. I knew how milk arrived at the doorstep. And where eggs came from. The argument of vegetarians, of course, was that in order to get steak you had to kill an animal. In order to get an egg or a glass of milk you hadn’t to kill an animal. But if you produce those dairy products on a massive scale, then the theory isn’t true that you don’t have to kill an animal.

VN: What does veganism mean, from the person who defined it?

DW: Well it certainly started as a milk issue. That was a great issue, even more than eggs. We had to solve the milk problem. And then it soon took over to include the whole diet—then, of course later, all the animal products that people use. The biggest industry in the world is animal exploitation, which is the one thing that veganism is opposing. Not just farming, but everything else—medicines, vivisection, everything that comes from animals. I think man is biologically not a carnivore or a parasite. I’m thinking particularly of milk drinking. We’ve got more than 500 different mammals throughout the world and man is the only one who takes milk throughout life. It’s only man who is capable of [this kind of exploitation].

VN: Taking veganism beyond diet, tell me your thoughts about wearing fur or hunting and fishing.

DW: Well veganism covers, it leads, the whole of the animal-welfare movement. There is a difference, obviously, between a laboratory animal that’s just being torn to pieces and someone giving little children a donkey ride. They’re so different and yet they’re both animal exploitation in a way, aren’t they? But I, as a propagandist, wouldn’t [protest] the donkey giving the little child a ride because the opponent would think you were just around the bend, so I just keep off that and go for the strong points.

VN: How would you like to be remembered?

DW: I thought, “When Joseph comes into the room this morning, I’ll say to him, ‘Look, I’m not obese. I don’t have bags under my eyes. I still got hair.’” And I thought, “No, that’s boasting, isn’t it?” Fate has a cruel way of dealing with boasters. You know, when the Vegan Society started, the population of the world was around two billion. It now exceeds [in 2005] six billion. Alongside this explosion is the second man-made explosion of purposely-bred animals to feed him. Some people throughout the ages have grasped these messages haven’t they? And it’s one of the mysteries of genetics how [a] few of us in the 20th century, born in orthodox settings with no one to influence us, managed to arrive at the same conclusion, or to see the same messages, that some of the ancient Greeks did. The theory is if we live on pure foods and pure thoughts and all the right ideas we become more receptive. And [most] people, the great mass of people, they’re just living. Now they’re not going to be spoken of in 2,000 years like the old Greeks. They’re just going to live and die.

Dairy - Why it's cruel and unnecessary

2010-08-25T20:59:00.000-07:00

This week for VCT we are doing something a bit different. Rather than featuring an awesome vegan baker I want to talk about dairy and why we take it out of our cupcakes here at Vegan Cupcake Thursday. (Actually we take it out of everything because we are...you guessed it, Vegan!)

So for all the non-vegans out there who ask the question, "Well how do you get your calcium if you don't drink cows milk?" Here are some things to think about.

Calcium is a mineral that comes from the ground. Calcium comes from grass, cows eats the grass and therefore the cow "gives" you milk with calcium.

Now I say "gives" you milk as if she wants to. In order to get milk from a cow, she has to be pregnant first. Farmers will make these cows get pregnant over and over and over again until her body just can't handle it anymore (same with pigs). When the little baby cow is born it is torn away from its mother. Cows do form a strong bond with their baby just like we do and when it's torn away both mother and baby will cry out in protest. It's so sad. If the newborn is a male, it is sent off to be turned into veal. If the newborn is female, it will endure many years of stress being shot up with hormones and having to give birth over and over again and each time their babies are taken away. And the females are eventually sent off to slaughter when they no longer can produce a profit for the farmer. But now I'm getting a little off subject here.

Most factory farmed cows are on lots with no grass, so how do you get your calcium? The farmers have to put the calcium in the cows food which came from the ground. Now isn't it silly to have this huge production filled with suffering, pain, inhumane practices & greedy corporate factory farmers all for a mineral that is plant based, why do we have to go through an animal to get it? The cow is just the unnecessary middle "person" so someone can make a buck. The dairy industry is so huge that it can persuade the FDA to tell the public they need to drink cows milk to get their required daily intake of calcium. Do you think the dairy industry really cares about your health? Anywho, most dark leafy vegetables have a wealth of calcium like chard, broccoli & even nuts. And these all come from the ground and an animal didn't have to suffer for it.

Another question to ask is, "Why cows milk?" Why not puppy's milk, lions milk, hyena? And the interesting answer is because cows don't fight back. You want to try to get milk from a hyena? We take such advantage of these sweet natured animals. And why do we think it's gross to drink humans milk into adulthood? Why would milk from our very own species disgust us and yet we will drink it from an animal?

So right now I'm going to step down off my soap box and pour me a nice tall glass of Rice Milk and eat my chard and my vegan cupcake for Vegan Cupcake Thursday, thank you very much!

Please consider giving, Soy, Rice, Coconut, Almond or Hemp Milk a try. And remember when drinking cows milk you are also drinking all the hormones the cow has been injected with. Every glass of milk is contaminated with pus, bacteria, and perhaps with paratuberculosis. Yum!

Featured this week: Bakesalery

2010-08-18T21:48:00.000-07:00

When you visit Bakesalery's website you just don't know which listing to click on first, they all look equally as good. Each picture will make your mouth water and wish you could just reach in the monitor and pick one awesome sweet out. But you won't be able to just pick one, that is fo'sho. Bakesalery happens to be on my Vegan Etsy team and to be on that team you must be vegan and everything in your shop must be vegan so you know it's safe to shop here and you don't even have to ask if it's VEGAN!

vegan mini peanut-butter cup cheesecakes

When did you start your business and why did you decide to go into baking?

I made something like 600 cookies for my (very small) family around Christmas time, and brought some extras to the vegan cafe near my house. They were full of compliments, and I opened an etsy store... from there it snowballed into local events and markets. When I was in the 3rd grade I was in 4-H and won blue ribbons for muffins and pies. I've always been a baker at heart.

Why are you vegan?

It started out as just being a picky eater - I've never eaten real dairy sour cream, yogurt, cream cheese, etc. I gave up meat when I was 18, I saw bloody carved meat at my college food hall and was just sickened. Giving up the rest was easy.

What is your personal favorite cupcake to make?

Strawberry cake, vanilla frosting.

vegan mini rocky-road cheesecakes

What is your top selling cupcake?

chocolate cake with white chocolate ganache and chocolate chips.

What do cupcakes mean to you?

That I'll be really full an hour after they come out of the oven.

vegan mint whoopie pies

What is your happiest memory while eating cupcakes?

Let me sum that up with a picture; http://www.flickr.com/photos/amyargh/4791199076/

Have you had any crazy requests from customers?

I got a call Saturday at 7pm for a wedding cake for 25 people by Sunday at 10am... ooof.

What do you like to do when you are not baking?

I love running, I'm training for my first marathon. I also love to travel, eat mexican food with my husband, and buy dresses.

vegan doughnut sampler

Do you have any events coming up where you will be selling cupcakes?

Oh yes, plenty. On August 22nd I'll be at the Farm to Folk Fest at Union Pool (a benefit for the Greenpoint CSA), and on September 12th I'll be at the FIAFS Crossing the Line Festival, September 18th I'm selling at the Greene Harvest CSA, and will be part of the Lyceum Mini Market on September 19th. Whew! Check here for more info; http://bakesalery.com/events.html

Let us know your website and social networking sites.

http://www.bakesalery.com/, will link you to my etsy shop, and show you what events in Brooklyn, NYC and surrounding areas I'll be selling at. Sign up for my newsletter there for coupons and discounts! I can also be found tweeting at twitter.com/bakesalery.

Do you take special requests, do you ship out of state, and do you do large orders like for weddings?

Of course! I ship mostly out of state, to places that aren't lucky enough to have their own vegan bakeries. I love doing weddings, one of my favorite things that I offer is a vegan-dessert buffet table for weddings filled with an assortment of cupcakes, petit fours and treats. I had one at my own wedding, and it was heaven.

What is your most embarrassing moment, doesn't have to be cupcake related.

When I was a little kid, I pooped in a public pool. It's a good story though, when I've had a few margaritas.

vegan mini raspberry coconut cheesecakes

What else do you sell in your shop?

Cookies, danish, doughnuts, brownies, fudge, oatmeal cream pies, whoopie pies... I get bored making the same thing a lot, so my "sampler" is most popular. Whatever I'm in the mood to make, my customers get to try. Sometimes it's stuff I don't even sell in the shop... yet.

Anything special you want to promote?

The vegan sweets of the month club is a great gift!! Christmas isn't that far away people!!!!

Do you do any vegan related fund raising?

We donate to Farm Sanctuary.. but check back when the weather cools down, we're going to do a special on the site; chocolate-barks for BARC.

Team Edward or Team Jacob?

My day-time job is working for Teen Vogue magazine, so after having seen many many images of them both shirtless, I'm picking Jacob.

Okay go now Vegan Cupcake Thursday followers and visit Bakesalery

Tea Loves Cake

2010-08-11T21:12:00.000-07:00

*Warning: you may need to wear a bib before reading any further, you know drool and all*

Tea Loves Cake

So I think I found Cupcake Heaven. Imagine a world where nothing existed but cupcakes. Heaven was a big carnival full of an array of colors like chocolate brown, pastel pink, roaring red, wedding white. There would be ferris wheels you sit under and each turn dropped a mini cupcake into your mouth. The tea cups would spin you around only to find a row of cupcakes spinning in the opposite direction at arms reach. Flavors of mocha, cherry or vanilla all for the offering. There would be games of shooting cupcakes into a clown's mouth and the winner gets to take the grand prize, a jumbo cupcake. Ah Heaven. And in Heaven, Tea Loves Cake.

Black Forest Cupcake

I met Leah of Tea Loves Cake on Etsy. Her shop offers a little slice of Heaven. I love the detail she puts into her cupcakes. She is extremely artistic and quite a baker. She lives in the UK and was selected as a finalist in the British Baker's National Cupcake Week contest to find Britain's Best Cupcake Baker! How exciting is that!? Please be sure to congratulate her. She may be seen on the Food Network channel because of this but she is a little shy and tried to hide from the camera. Well we say, be loud and proud sista!

Let's get to know Leah from Tea Loves Cake

When did you start your business and why did you decide to go into baking?

Tea Loves Cake is just a baby business our first sale was in May. I was a cake decorator in a shop in California and also ended up working in a cake shop after moving to Scotland. Baking and decorating is in my blood I guess. After going vegan I had to start baking at home, from scratch. I just couldn't stop. :)

Raspberry and Vanilla Coconut marshmallow Cupcakes

Why are you vegan?
In general I need 3 reasons to do anything. Moping the floor: 1. It's sticky 2. it looks dirty and 3. it might attract bugs. With veganism there are a LOT more than 3 reasons. But these hundreds of reasons do fall into three easy-to-remember categories. Humans, Animals, and the Planet. The first reason I wanted to go vegan was for the animals. If you don't have to use animals, then why use animals? Realizing how our animal-use negatively effects the world on so many levels is why I am staying vegan.

What is your personal favorite cupcake to make?
I love to experiment. At the moment I'm playing with flower flavours like Rose, Lavender, and Chamomile.

Special Chocolate Cupcakes

What is your top selling cupcake?
My Black Forest cupcakes seem to be the most popular.
Do you take special requests, do you ship out of state, and do you do large orders like for weddings?
I will consider any special request, I can only ship within the UK,

-and-

I haven't had any wedding cupcake orders yet but I am dieing to do a big tower of bight multi-coloured cupcakes with matching fresh flowers! Large orders are welcome!

What is your most embarrassing moment?
Oh goodness, I'm not telling. Let's just say: It involves a shirt I hadn't worn in a while, then going out in public and remembering WHY I hadn't worn it in a while!

Special Vanilla Cupcakes

What else do you sell in your shop?
Just cupcakes at the moment, but I have plans to begin selling cookies very soon. Expanding to various vegan baked goods soon after that. Whoopie Pies shouldn't be far off.

Anything special you want to promote?
I am offering free delivery for all Cupcake week pre-orders. National Cupcake Week is Sept 13-19th. And with the new packaging technique I am testing I may be able to offer my full range for courier delivery by then.

Please connect with Leah here:
Website: http://www.tealovescake.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/TeaLovesCake/313436613647
Twitter: http://twitter.com/TeaLovesCake

Carrot and Orange Cupcakes

I think Tea Loves Cake knows what people want and Tea Loves Cake delivers just that. Please go show her some love!

Sweet V Confections Review by Susmitha The Great

2010-08-04T21:43:00.000-07:00

I know what you are thinking, "Who are you and what have you done to the Cupcake Whisperer?" Now don't get your cupcakes all up in a bunch. Today for Vegan Cupcake Thursday we are doing something slightly different. We have a review by someone who loves cupcakes as much as I do! She is fabulous, funny, talented and beautiful and her name is Susmitha of Art by Susmitha and Veganosaurus. She is reviewing another friend of ours shop, Sweet V Confections. We are all members of Vegan Etsy so check it out!

So there it was, a pretty, pink, striped bakery box. I was thrilled that it had arrived in the mail so quickly after the order had been placed! The packaging was so lovely that I almost didn't want to open it right away... almost. But the thought of the goodies inside overtook my power of restraint and before I knew it, I was looking at a delectable collection of tempting concoctions from Sweet V Confections.

I know this is a cupcake themed blog, but first I must speak of the most delightful surprise treat in the package... The Puppy Chow! "Peanut buttery, chocolatey goodness with a crunch!" that's what the description claims and I most definitely concur! Just talking about these little bursts of glee is making me crave some right now so please bear with me while I run to my fridge and pop some into my mouth.

*crunch* *munch* There! That hit the spot. :)

Now, where were we? Oh yes, the cupcake. The variety I got the was the Red Velvet Cupcake. These cupcakes are a sight to behold! Such a beautiful, rich, deep red color (obtained by using natural, beet based food coloring). The fluffy icing came in a little box on the side. I just scooped up spoonfuls of it and piled it onto the cake before wolfing it down. These cupcakes are delectably moist and could be thoroughly enjoyed even without the icing.

The other goodies I ordered were the Vanilla Shortbread Sandwiches and the Fudge Filled Sandwich Cookies. I can't decide which one I like more. They're so darned good! Each bite is like a little piece of heaven. I highly recommend them!

Kristen (the awesome lady behind Sweet V Confections) also included some extra surprise goodies in the package, like the Peanut Butter and Jelly Cups (SO much better than plain peanut butter cups!) and the Vegan Chocolate Fudge. Both of them exceptionally yummy!

If you're anything like me, I know what you're thinking now... there are so many options at this store, it's hard to decide which one to pick. Well don't you worry about that. Just go for the Sinfully Sweet Vegan Variety Sampler and you will *not* be disappointed! If there's anything particular that you want included in the sampler, all you need to do is send Kristen a convo about it. She is really friendly and approachable.

Sweet V Confections has been included in the Vegnews Mag's 2010 Veggie Awards Poll under the "Best Online Bakery" category. I'd request you to vote for her, but once you have tasted these delicious baked goods, I'm confident you will want to do so without having to be asked at all. :)

Signing off,
- Susmitha :) (Veganosaurus)

This one's for you Greater Toronto Canada Area \m/

2010-07-28T18:53:00.000-07:00

chocolate fudge

C'mon Homer Simpson, don't be a playa hata, how could you hate Canada when they have Bunner's Bake Shop? I declare a ROAD TRIP! And I call shotgun. Unfortunately Bunner's Bake Shop can only serve the Greater Toronto Area so in the words of Homer (Simpson that is) "Canada? Why would I want to leave America just to visit America, Jr.?" Because Bunner's have The Island Cupcake made with coconut milk, coconut cream cheese frosting and gently toasted coconut flakes. And they have a Chocolate Fudge Cupcake, a rich chocolate fudge frosting, drizzled with chocolate ganache- it's basically the holy grail of chocoholics, says the owner Ashley. OMG oh no she di'int, they have a Red Velvet Cupcake! (wags tail with tongue hanging out) Just reading the descriptions alone makes my taste buds scream in a desperate voice, M.U.S.T. H.A.V.E. C.U.P.C.A.K.E. N.O.W. while beating my chest! Bunner's will make gluten free and soy free upon request. Really, if you live in Toronto, I implore you, I beg of you, I'm on my hands and knees, go check out Bunner's Bake Shop. If you don't you are not worthy of Vegan Cupcake Thursday.

Let's get to know Ashley, without further ado....

When did you start your business and why did you decide to go into baking?

Bunner’s has been in development for a little over a year now, but we’ve officially been in business for just a few months. As for baking, I have always had a serious sweet tooth (my first word was cookie!) and after becoming vegan I just couldn’t deal with giving up my favourite treats!

vanilla bean

Why are you vegan?

How much time do you have?! Haha, I’m vegan for just about every reason that you could be. On a more basic level though, I’m vegan because I made a concerted effort to educate myself on what was behind the curtain and I couldn’t “un-see” what I saw there.

What is your personal favorite cupcake to make?

Gosh, do I have to choose just one? I think I will go with plain vanilla...there’s something so scrumptious about the smell of fresh vanilla cupcakes. One of my most favourite things to do is eat a naked cupcake (no frosting) that’s still warm from the oven. They’re so light and fluffy!

What is your top selling cupcake?

Red Velvets outsell all the other cupcakes by a huge margin! I think it’s because they’ve got such an old fashioned charm to them, plus the vegan cream cheese icing is so creamy and addictive!

What is your happiest memory while eating cupcakes?

Probably the first time I turned out a successful vegan and gluten free cupcake- not only were they great looking, but they tasted perfect!

What do you like to do when you are not baking?

I like hanging out with my boyfriend (and business partner), our dog Rupert, and my amazing pals. I also bike everywhere and try to fit in as much yoga as possible!

red velvet

Do you have any events coming up where you will be selling cupcakes?

We sell our goods every Sunday at the Farmer’s Market in the Distillery District from 10a-4p

strawberries n' cream

Do you take special requests, do you ship out of state, and do you do large orders like for weddings?

I will always consider a special request, and we cater any event big or small (birthday parties, weddings, office meetings, etc)

Team Edward or Team Jacob?

Hahaha, I’m more of a True Blood kinda gal

coconut

What else do you sell in your shop?

We also do cookies, muffins and scones. While our cupcakes are amazing, the bestselling item at Bunner’s is our Supersonic Gypsy cookies- jam packed full of yummy energy!

Please favorite Bunner's Etsy Shop and Fan her Facebook page - good for up-to-the-minute updates!

At this time they only deliver within Toronto, Canada- but delivery is free with orders over $40!

Veganville - Make No Bones About it. We're Vegan!

2010-07-21T22:07:00.000-07:00

I'm just going to be blunt here, Veganville cupcakes are a great substitution for sex. That's right. Think of the scene in When Harry Met Sally, yeah, that's me with a cupcake. It's like, I'll even start licking the paper wrappers they came in. I can't stop myself. I transform into this wild cupcake beast. No one and I mean NO one can get in my way between me and a Veganville cupcake. Moist and chock full of icing. That's the way I like my cupcakes and GiGi from Veganville delivers just that.

I had the pleasure of meeting GiGi the other day. She is so vivacious and charming and I think her cupcakes really reflect herself. And not that she had to twist my arm or anything but she gave me 4 full sized cupcakes to..ahem.."try". I think devour is more of the term I want to use, euphemism people! My mouth was completely salivating when ~~I snatched~~ she politely handed over the box. My favorite was the Latte Cupcake shown above. Decadent! Not to mention the chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting one! Oh why oh why don't cupcakes multiply when you want them to?

Let's get to the interview...

When did you start your business and why did you decide to go into baking?

I originally started a small baking biz about 7 years ago. I left it for a while to pursue other endeavors. I never stopped baking and experimenting. I even found myself dreaming about baked goods. The dessert visions nudged me back into business about a year and a half ago.

Why are you vegan?

I had been a vegetarian forever. For the most part I stayed away from dairy but couldn’t commit to veganism because I thought my baking would suffer. How cruel is that? Who’s really suffering? Then one day I made a decision that I would either figure out a way to veganize my baking so it would still be delicious or I would sacrifice my baking. I couldn’t sacrifice an animal for my baking, I couldn’t live with a clear conscience. I love animals too much.

What is your top selling cupcake?

It’s a tie between “Jo Jo’s Jonesing for a Ho Ho” which are all names for Oreo (Oreo cupcake) and Java Jolt.

What do cupcakes mean to you?

In the grand scheme of things…cupcakes are a very big deal!

What is your happiest memory eating a cupcake?

JoJo Cupcakes

I brought some jumbo Jo Jos to a friend’s small dinner party. We each took one out of the box to eat for dessert. I looked around the room and realized that everyone was in their own little space eating and experiencing their own personal cupcake Nirvana. I might have to rename the JoJo the Timothy Leary cupcake.

Have you had any crazy requests for cupcakes?

I’m not a gluten-free aficionado, so the first time I had a request for gluten free cupcakes they came out like doorstops. I’ve also had to make different flavored green cupcakes for a real estate trade show. The cupcakes represented a lawn and I put a picket fence around them.

What is your personal favorite cupcake?

The one cupcake I would bring to a desert island with me is vanilla maple with peanut butter frosting.

What do you like to do when you are not baking?

Mostly I like to annoy my mommy.

What is your most embarrassing moment? It doesn’t have to be cupcake related.

My most embarrassing moment hmmm- My answer to number 7. (Personal Favorite Cupcake)

Do you have any special events coming up?

Yes. We don’t have dates yet. My husband is a musician and is in the process of creating a vegan concerts series where a percentage of the proceeds will benefit animal and vegan organizations.

Do you take special requests?

Love Stinks Collection

Yes.

Do you ship out of state?

I do. Cupcake frosting is shipped in a container with the cupcakes.

Do you cater to weddings?

Yes I do weddings.

Where can we find you online?

You can find Veganville on FB. If you click on the boxes of the FB page it will bring you to a complete dessert and savory menu. Veganville.etsy and zanyvegan at twitter. My blog is http://gigi-2boomers.blogspot.com/ You can order through Etsy or FB me through Veganville. We deliver locally as well as cater.

What else do you sell in your shop?

I sell Sam Sam cake a death by chocolate loaf cake, Martha Made a Mint chocolate chip cookies, Wabbit carrot cake sandwich cookies, apple uncrumby muffins and lots more.

Anything else you would like to promote?

Yes, me. I’d like a promotion. Also, I give beginning and intermediate vegan cooking classes. I’ll teach you how to make a complete meal and then we’ll dine. I have just started “Koffee Klotch” a group vegan dessert class that’s great to take with your pals. Please add yourself as a follower at my blog. Thank you for having me. You are very nice.

The Stuedebaker- lemon filling and lemon frosting

Seriously folks, check these Veganville cupcakes out, take it from the Cupcake Whisper'ers mouth!

Featured Artist - Plain Jane 100% Vegan Ingredients

2010-07-14T21:56:00.000-07:00

In researching vegan bakers to feature on VCT I came across Plain Jane. And I was intrigued. I was fascinated. I was sucked right into the vegan cupcake vortex and I couldn't get out. I'm afraid if you read on you will be put under Plain Jane's spell, like the Siren's of the cupcake sea you will be lured into taking a peek at her unique design and style and the love she puts in her cupcakes. Her cupcakes are not just cake and icing. They are exquisite masterpieces of perfection. I love the names of Plain Jane's cupcakes, The Jane Good-All, Jane's Addiction and The Jane Mansfield, all my favorites!

Jane of Plain Jane could not have said it better, taken from her Etsy shop, "Vegan cupcakes made with 100% natural ingredients - and, of course, "vegan" means an even more important ingredient: 100% plain, simple LOVE"

Let's get to know Plain Jane a little better, without further ado meet Jane.

When did you start your business and why did you decide to go into baking?

I started my business about a month ago because I was trying to find a summer job here in Miami Beach and I couldn't find anything! I decided to start my business because I knew I could make really, really delicious cupcakes. I also knew that I could help people see that being a vegan isn't THAT difficult (especially when you get a yummy cupcake every now and then...).

Why are you vegan?

I started eating a vegan diet last summer before I went into my first year of college because I wanted to lose weight and get healthy before starting a new chapter in my life. Being vegan has completely changed my life and has made me feel incredible.

What is your personal favorite cupcake to make?

Definitely our newest cupcake, the Jane "Dough". This cupcake makes me feel so - dare I say it - naughty because I'm filling a CUPCAKE with COOKIE DOUGH!!! How could anyone be so sinful?

What is your top selling cupcake?

The Jane's Addiction, by far, receives the most attention from chocolate lovers. It's a chocolate-chocolate-chip cupcake filled with chocolate frosting and topped with even more chocolate frosting and chocolate chips. Insane.

However, another cupcake that's started to become more popular is another new flavor of ours, the Jane Fonda. It's a cappuccino cupcake with coffee frosting, topped with dark chocolate espresso beans. I love this cupcake because it gives me the taste of coffee without making me freak out from loads of caffeine.

What do cupcakes mean to you?

Cupcakes are the epitome of happiness. Cheesy but true. They're these little bundles of endless possibilities and experiences.

Oh, wait...I just described a baby. That just goes to show you how serious I am about these cupcakes.

What is your happiest memory while eating cupcakes?

My happiest moment has to be when I sat down at my kitchen counter with my family (a bunch of non-vegans) gathered around my first batch of Plain Jane cupcakes for a taste test. They all loved them and it was that moment when I knew that I had something great.

What do you like to do when you are not baking?

I'm going into my sophomore year in college, and I know that I should be getting ready for school whenever I'm not baking. I've been working out and going to the beach a lot. I've also been reading the Stieg Larsson books - they're great if you haven't read them yet.

Check out Jane's websites!
My cupcakes can be bought online at either of these sites:

http://www.plainjanecupcakes.com

http://www.plainjanecupcakes.etsy.com

You can also do custom orders by emailing me at jane@plainjanecupcakes.com

Do you take special requests, do you ship out of state, and do you do large orders like for weddings?

We definitely take special requests. If you want it, we'll bake it. We also ship anywhere in the United States, and will deliver to your home if you live in Miami, FL.

Team Edward or Team Jacob?

Vampires are sexier than werewolves...something about the body hair. So I think team Edward. Although, I'm more of a Harry Potter person.

Please be sure to visit Plain Jane's website and if by chance you can't help yourself and buy a dozen or so cupcakes tell her VCT sent you and give us a review!!

All pictures are property of Plain Jane

Help us name our Twitter account

2010-07-13T10:14:00.000-07:00

I have taken the poll down, the winning name is VeganCupcakeDay, please follow us on Twitter! http://twitter.com/vegancupcakeday

Vegan Cupcake Thursday is jumping on the Twitter band wagon and we need your help to choose a name. We have asked our friends to come up with the selected names and the winning name's creator is going to win a lip balm by Daisy Wares! Yay! Sorry it's not a cupcake that you are winning, we don't bake them, we just eat them.

If the winning name is already taken by the time this poll ends then we will go on down the list until one is available.

Vegan Cupcake Thursday

2010-07-10T10:12:00.000-07:00

You've heard the buzz, you've heard there ‘IS’ much ado about Vegan Cupcake Thursday but what is it? How do I participate? How do I become the Vegan Cupcake Thursday Extraordinaire?

Well folks let me tell you. Put your Veg News down, shut off the Vegetarian Food For Thought Podcast, scoot the cats aside to make room on the non-leather couch, sit down and listen. It’s all about VEGAN goodness. Don’t cupcakes bring joy and happiness to your innermost feelings? We celebrate with cupcakes, we share cupcakes, we worship cupcakes. They are the happy medium. Cookies are just a little too small, you have to eat more than one to be satisfied but then you eat too much and you regret it. Cake is just too big, big full on stomach ache there, but CUPCAKES, ah CUPCAKES the perfect size, the perfect delectable, mouth-watering, scrumptious, party in your mouth kind of treat.

It all started about a year ago when I was sitting in front of the television waiting for the Thursday night lineup of Vampire Diaries, then quickly changing it to channel 3 for The Office because Vampire Diaries ends late and always cuts off the beginning of The Office damnit, then 30 Rock. I had a cupcake in my lap waiting to be devoured. It happened to be Thursday. It was such a climactic moment, my most favorite shows and my most favorite dessert all at once which happened to be a Thursday, did I mention that? And suddenly out of my mouth flew the words, “It must be Vegan Cupcake Thursday!” What better way to celebrate a bunch of vampires, Michael Scott and Liz Lemon once a week than with cupcakes? It was something to look forward to and thus began the one thing that took over my life, Vegan Cupcake Thursday.

Now you’re not gonna get away so fast without me telling you why it’s called VEGAN and not called, Full of Animal By-products From Tortured Animals Cupcake Thursday. I am here to show you that you don’t need animal by-products in your food to taste good. The myth about needing animals in your food to taste good is false people, I know, I know, I hope you are still sitting down because that revelation was a shock to me too at first. Vegan Cupcake Thursday is all about debunking the myth and proving that VEGAN cupcakes taste good and no animals need to be harmed for your minute of pleasure.

This blog is going to tantalize your senses and tease you with pictures & descriptions of cupcakes to make you drool, share recipes and cookbooks, feature vegan cupcake artists, teach you about what animals go through to provide you butter, milk and eggs, and we may even make you laugh, cry and (gasp) become a vegan. Or at least make you think about what you are supporting, where your vote is going and how you want to represent.

We will get together every what day? THURSDAY! Yes, THURSDAY, we will get together and celebrate Vegan Cupcake Thursday. We want to see pictures of your cupcakes, we want to know the places you bought your cupcakes, or your recipes you used to make your cupcakes. We will celebrate veganism, cupcakes and good friends who give us bites out of their cupcakes, or just good friends.

This is going to be bigger than PETA, bigger than Howard Lyman’s paycheck, bigger than do we dare say, Daiya Cheese? So I hope you are ready for the ride of your life down Vegan Cupcake Thursday Boulevard. Let the unrefined sugar fly!

Vegan! Cupcake Wars

2010-07-09T18:23:00.000-07:00

Chloe is the WINNER of Cupcake Wars
on The Food Network!
Vegan Cupcakes just might actually take over the world!

Vegan Cupcake Thursday

2010-07-09T18:02:00.000-07:00

We have proclaimed every Thursday "Vegan Cupcake Thursday"!! Why not eat a vegan cupcake every Thursday, after all they make you happy and feel all good inside. Cupcakes bring people together and make the world one happy place. And you know the animals love it because they are vegan!

Our first feature is Sweet V Confections. This amazing shop encourages you to indulge your sweet side! All baked goods and sweets are 100% vegan-no dairy, no eggs, no honey, no animal products of any kind! What could be better, just look at this cupcake!

They do make other sweets other than cupcakes so please be sure to check out this shop on Etsy. You'll be doing all the animals and your taste buds a big favor!